halex writes shit.

I love you. You are dear to all of our writerly hearts. We appreciate all that you do in encouraging our work! Especially when not everyone chooses to comment for various reasons (and no judgement from me personally I am not about guilting people into stuff)

But I have one request to make to all commenting-kind.

Please PLEASE I BEG YOU. If you are leaving a comment on something you enjoyed. Please EXPLICITLY say something positive about it. “I enjoyed this.” “Looking forward to reading more” “loved this” it can be utterly simple but it needs to be explicit.

I have seen many authors (and experienced myself) receive comments with a tone that is neutral at best and struggle with being able to tell if the person even liked it.

Worse yet, I have also seen people leave comments with character analysis that is overtly negative, as in, disagreeing with the character’s actions. Which by itself with no contextual “I enjoyed reading this character be an asshole” it just comes across like you are complaining about the writing or that you didn’t like how this character was written. Which is obviously not what you’re going for if you liked the fic.

Also please never ever ever leave a comment that is literally just pointing out a typo and nothing else. I personally don’t mind getting typo corrections (though be careful many authors do not like it) I would be seriously annoyed if someone felt the urge to comment because they had to correct me but apparently had no equal urge to say anything nice.

So please try to be explicitly clear about your enjoyment of a fic when leaving a comment. It also makes it much easier for the author to reply when they know you actually liked it. Please don’t assume we will know you enjoyed it because you are commenting, we get shitty asshole comments too.

hoomans

https://x6ud.github.io/pose-search/

For your convenience, a masterpost of all (or most) of my original posts so far.  It will obviously be updated as I create and add more!

Enjoy, and thank you for reading!  <3

The Basics:  Plotting, Descriptions, and More

The Dos and Don’ts of Beginning a Novel

How to Write Good Dialogue

How to Avoid Purple Prose

The Objective Correlative

Tips for Visual Thinkers

5 Ways to Name Your Novel

Romance

How to Write a Kiss Scene

How to Write a (Healthy) Romance

Mythology 

Angelic Cheat Sheet

Irish Mythology Resources

Horror

My #1 Tip For Writing Horror

Characterization

How to Get to Know Your Characters

Male Protagonists to Avoid in Your Writing

Female Protagonists to Avoid in Your Writing

More Female Protagonists to Avoid in Your Writing

How to Write Strong Female Characters 

The Many Faces of the Strong Female Character

The Traits of a Likable Hero

The Secret to a Relatable Villain

Types of Unreliable Narrators

How to Write (or Avoid) Abusive Parents

The Dos and Don’ts of Writing Smart Characters

Reference Masterposts

Depicting Deaf, Blind, or Mute Characters

Depicting Amputees

Depicting Jewish Characters

Depicting Black Characters

Depicting ADHD

Depicting Autism

Depicting Nonbinary and Genderfluid Characters

Depicting Asexual Characters

Depicting Drug Addiction

Depicting Eating Disorders

Depicting Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Worldbuilding Masterpost

Publishing Resources:

Places to Post Original Fiction

Marketing Masterpost

My Published Fiction:

Gunpowder Sigil

The Undertaker’s Apprentice

The Young Immortal

The Bear

Strange New Worlds Anthology

—

the ones with single quotes aren’t mine, but the rest are. great story and fic prompts

The original tweet summarizes it pretty well. Fanfic tends to be popular among certain types of neurodivergent people (aka people most likely to read excessively as a child, and have burnout as an adult) for the same reasons that we tend to hyperfixate–neurochemical signaling (I hope I’m using that phrase correctly). What I mean is, for people who are really dependent on changes in dopamine/serotonin/neurotransmitter levels, who have low levels or wonky neural reward systems (perhaps the most common types of neurodivergence)…people like us rely on dependable external sources of those neurochemicals. In order to function, we spend a lot of our free time trying to level out our brain chemistry using things that can reliably bring us a steady stream of joyful moments (rewards) without costing too much of the mental effort that is already in short supply. 

significantly: the investment of reading has to be balanced with a steady “return on investment”–and this return has to start fairly quickly. because again, we don’t have a lot of attention/energy to invest on tiring things. we have perpetual “low batteries” in that regard.

that doesn’t mean these stories are “simple,” or that they lack complexity or value–only that the reward has to come in short regular intervals, and it has to have a low “upfront cost.” these stories are only “easy” to read in the sense that the effort we put into them is rewarded in a timely manner. which is why fanfic stories are so perfectly formulated for neurodivergent readers–they are often beautifully written, but skip a lot of the upfront costs (of introducing new characters, of world-building, of getting the audience emotionally connected to the story elements).

the nature of fanfiction is that the reader has a pre-existing relationship with this world and these characters. that–combined with the shorter average length of fics–means that fan fics very quickly start rewarding the reader in a way that traditional fiction struggles to. that’s not a bad thing! and maybe it’s something more traditionally published writers should be paying attention to.

In response to the Anon earlier, I sent in an ask to thelegalizeddeafies, and here for you all is their reply!

thelegalizeddeafies:

Hi, I’m Evvy, and I coadmin a tumblr call Fuck Yeah Character Development, in which we work with writers on developing characters in their writing. One follower was wondering about how to describe D/deaf people conversing in sign- specifically, whether it was fine to simply replace “said” with “signed” after a sentence. I told them not necessarily, because ASL does not simply translate to written English exactly. However (cont…)

 farleythew0lf

I’m not totally sure how one would go about writing ASL dialogue without simply making the reader infer that you’ve translated to English as close as possible. Do you have any advice, recommendations or examples of ways to write something including ASL-based dialogue?

Hmmmm, well, considering I’ve seen very, very few dialog written of d/Deaf folks in literature, I think the best thing to do is remind people that not all of ASL is communicated through the hands — a lot of emphasis is on body language and facial expressions.

So, instead of simply saying, “‘Well, then, Mr. Smarty-pants,’ John snarked, ‘Why don’t you tell me how it’s done?’”, you add the facial and body dimensions into it (which ultimately makes for more descriptive prose as-is), such as, “‘Well then, Smarty-Pants’ John offered, leaning forward with palms out, ‘Why don’t you tell me how it’s done?’ He leaned back again as he let his fingers fall into palms-out skepticism as his hands slowly descended to his hips, contrary to his rising smile and eyebrow.”

I would absolutely recommend (almost require) that your writers refrain from writing Deaf characters signing unless they’re comfortable with ASL and the mannerisms that come with signing the language, because being able to sign the dialog yourself (as I did writing what I did) to accurately portray the motions and body-language. Otherwise, you end up with stiff, wooden and inaccurate Deaf signers (who tend to be emotionally expressive out the wazzoo).

But this is just my opinion, and the others might disagree!

- Love and bunnies!

In addition,

Thank you! I’ve created a post with your reply and added it to FYCD for future reference. Also, from curiosity, have you read anything that does have d/Deaf signers described (well) in the dialogue? - Evvy

 farleythew0lf

I personally haven’t, but come back in a tad? Maybe the others will have. The only characters I’ve ever seen in literature who were deaf were used as plot devices or strategically mute, so I’ve literally never seen described in fiction. And most fan-fics tend to infantilize or fetishize deafness or makes us a “very special character lesson”. So…I apologize. Come back later, since there’s 3 others who can (and probably will) respond to either one of these asks!

—-

(Evvy): In case it’s helpful to anyone, there are some great tumblr blogs about Deafness and ASL! Here’s a sampler:

http://thelegalizeddeafies.tumblr.com/

http://lifeofaterp.tumblr.com/

http://weloveasl.tumblr.com/

http://aslstudents.tumblr.com/

They all have an Ask button, be polite and I’m sure they’ll field some questions that you might have. 

AND…

Okay! Any additional advice/suggestions/all that would be excellent, I will check in later. I also very much want to write something with a developed Deaf character now. I’ve only got one year of ASL/Deaf Culture at present, but perhaps with review from others I could pull it off. And, as always, I will encourage all the followers of FYCD to do their research properly. :)

 farleythew0lf

Regarding to your pervious ask, said is typically used and not signed. However, to write in ASL-based dialogue, you can gloss into ASL. But since ASL has no true written form then its best to translate it into English written form.

For example:

“Me pass class! How? Study-hard”, said Alex. 

Please let me know it helps.

“you’re super short and i’m sorry but it’s really really cute whenever you try to reach that book on the top shelf here lemme help you- oh no don’t be embarrassed, your face is all red and you’re even more adorable now i am going to die” au

“i’m a biker and one day i was biking in your neighborhood while you just happened to be outside watering the plants and since you’re so goddamn cute i accidentally steered into a pole and now you’re giving me first aid (holy shit you’re even cuter up close)” au

“you’re biking through my neighborhood and you ran into a pole so now i’m really concerned and patching you up, oh my gosh you’re really hot even though you have a bloody nose” au

“i’m at a karaoke bar and i’m sober enough to realize that your voice singing my absolute favorite song is the most beautiful thing i’ve ever heard, and you caught me staring and winked at me oh shit” au

“you fell asleep on my shoulder on the plane ride and i would ask you to move but you look so comfy and adorable when you sleep. also you smell really good and the feeling of your breath on my skin is somewhat relaxing, maybe we can go out to lunch in this shitty airport when you wake up?” au

“you’re so perfect and i’m in love with you but i’ve never actually met you and you keep avoiding meeting up, so i called nev and max to help me figure out whether or not you’re catfishing me” au

“whoa it turns out you were actually just super shy and you’re even cuter in person pls kiss me in front of all these cameras” au to followup with that

“i’m a quiktrip worker and whenever I work a night shift, you always arrive and buy like 3 cans of redbull and you look exhausted, do you need some help? are you okay?” au

“you invited me to your brother’s/sister’s wedding as a plus one bc we’re hella best friends but we end up making out at the afterparty and now everyone thinks we’re fucking so uh,, u wanna go out for a drink sometime? try this whole couple thing out?” au

“my sister tried to set me up with her friend but little does she know that i am hella gay and i end up falling in love with her smoking hot brother, and whenever i hang at her place we always tell my sister that it’s for a date when really she’s now just trying to set me up with her brother” au

(this can be tweaked in any way to fit your otp :p)

“i’m one of those talk show stars that walks up to random people on the streets and asks them really obscure questions, and you’re really cute and camera shy and i’m sorry but it’s adorable how you stutter when you’re nervous, uh, perhaps when there aren’t so many cameras surrounding me i can buy you a drink?” au

“you just came up to me on the street and asked where the weirdest place i had sex was and i’m assuming it’s for one of those talk show things, but i’m really nervous because you’re really really hot in that suit holy shit” au

“will you stop flirting with me you just got seriously injured and i’m the EMT trying to tend to your wounds in the ambulance, i don’t give a fuck that i look cute when i’m concerned, you’re lucky you’re not dead you dipshit” au

“my mom/sister/dad/brother/best friend doesn’t know we’re dating but one day he/she/they walked in on us making out and started cheering oh my god this is so embarrassing i’m so sorry” au

“you have fire powers and i have ice powers and one day you save my ass and even though we’re supposed to be rivals, you’re actually really really cute and warm can i just stay in your arms forever bc i am perpetually cold” au

“you have ice powers and i have fire powers and i save your sorry ass from getting hurt/killed, okay i know we’re supposed to be rivals according to every legend ever but you’re adorable and wow you’re really cold, would you like me to warm you up?” au

“i’m so sorry i’ve been stowing away on your ship but i’m lonely and tired and starving with nowhere to go so please take pity on my poor soul bc you’re the sweetest pirate i have ever met and since we’re in the middle of the ocean now there’s no way you’re taking me back to land anytime soon” au

“i would be furious at you for stowing away on my ship if it weren’t for the fact that you look really sick and sad can i help you” au

“dude why did that siren take on my image to try and seduce you, is there something you wanna tell me” au

“I’m an elf with really bad aim so while hunting i accidentally shot you in the shoulder with an arrow i’m so sorry can i make it up to you in any way? oh shit you’re a wizard, please don’t turn me into a frog i’ll do anything you want me to” au

“we’re coworkers and all the other employees ship us so just for fun we all go out clubbing/to a bar but little do we know its actually a plot they set up to get us to realize our supposed love for each other. wait you’re actually a really good dancer and your laugh is so endearing and, holy shit, maybe our colleagues were right” au

“i catch you at the bus terminal shivering your ass off because it’s 30 degrees and for some godforsaken reason you’re wearing a short sleeve t shirt, so out of pity i lend you my hoodie and you look so surprised it’s the cutest thing i’ve ever seen, setting aside the fact that you’re a goddamn idiot, do you want to get sick?” au

(cont.) “you look so sad and cold that i just tell you to keep my hoodie b/c you obviously need it more than i do. a week later i see you at a coffee shop/book store/etc. and you’re wearing my hoodie which you look so fucking tiny and cute in, and you just saw me and you look super embarrassed; you offer me it back but i tell you it suits you more and we end up talking and i buy you a drink” au

“we’re partners in cupcake wars and i never realized how cute you look with frosting on your face until now but no distractions, we have to fucking pummel these other teams because we are the best goddamn cupcake company in the universe WE CAN DO THIS” au

“i’m swimming laps in a lake alone at night and i thought no one else was here but i just swam right into you and uh?? you’re not wearing a shirt and you’re hot as hell pl ease take me right here” au

“i took you to my family’s lakehouse and we went jetskiing which you were so adorably excited about b/c you’ve never been, and when we drove around on the water at ungodly speeds u held onto me b/c there was nothing else to hold onto” au

“my friends dared me to buy 20 condoms but i didn’t realize that the cute cashier would be working tonight so i avoided eye contact as i piled them onto the counter and please stop laughing so hard, oh my god it’s for a dare okay i’ve never had sex in my life and once you stopped laughing, i swear i fell in love with that sparkle in your eye as you grinned wildly at me and asked me out for a drink” au

“i accidentally called the wrong skype number and it turns out the person i called was you and you’re in a different time zone, so it’s 3am where you are and you just woke up and look fucking pissed but you’re cute so… let’s do this again when you’re not asleep. i’m more than willing to stay up into the dead of night to talk to you” au

1. Writer’s Market 2019 is a great place to start– it gives you a list of magazines and journals that you can send your work to depending on the genre as well as lists a shit ton of literary agents that specify what genres they represent, how you can get in contact with them and how they accept query letters. this is a book that updates every year and tbh i only bought it this year so i dont know how critical it is to have an updated version  

2. do your research. mostly on literary agents because if you listed on your site that you like to represent fluffy YA novels and some asshole sends you a 80k manuscript about like…gritty viking culture, you will be severely pissed off. always go in finding someone who you know will actually like your work because they’re the ones who will try to advocate for you in getting published.

3. learn how to write a query letter. there are slightly varying formulas to how you can write an effective query letter. you’re also going to want to get feedback on your query letter because its the first thing the literary agent will read and based on how well you do it, it could be the difference between them rejecting you outright and giving your manuscript a quick read

4. unfortunately, you’re gonna want to get a twitter. Twitter is where a lot of literary agents are nowadays, and they host things like twitter pitch parties, where you pitch your manuscript in a few sentences and hashtag it with #Pitmad #Pitdark, some version of pit. a lot of literary agents and publishers will ALSO post their manuscript wishlists, which is just the kind of books they’d like to represent/publish, and they hashtag this with #MSWL (it is NOT for writers to use, only for agents/publishers)